60. Bake A Pie

Today I proved why I'm not a baker...

I arrive home this evening, and I was determined to cross something off my bucket list.  I quickly decided I wanted to bake a pie, so I looked in the freezer to see if I had any pie crusts.  Disappointed for a second when I didn't find any, I hopped in my car, and drove to town.  After arriving home I found the bucket of Saskatoon berries that I had picked from my Mum's bush the day before.  We have been having problems with birds eating our berries, so as you see in the photo bellow we have put out some "scarecrows" to scare away the birds, and they have been working quite well.

One of the easiest ways to wash berries is to put them in a bucket of water.  The berries float making it easy to scoop them out after they are clean.

Saskatoon Pie

3 cups           -Saskatoon berries
3/4 cup          -sugar
1/4 cup          -flour (or uncooked minute tapioca)
1 tsp            -lemon juice
2                -pastry pie crust

After letting the crusts thaw for fifteen minutes, I placed the bottom crust in the pie plate.  In a bowl I mixed the sugar and flour, then add the Saskatoon berries.  I poured the content of the bowl into the pie crust, then sprinkled the lemon juice on top of the pie.

Before putting my pie in the oven I covered it with the top crust on, and cut slits in the top for steam to release.  The recipe said to bake the pie for 10 min at 425 degrees, then 45 min at 350 degrees.  I forgot to turn the temperature down on the oven, which resulted in the crust being very dry.  The inside was still very good, but it was disappointing that the pie did not turn out perfectly.  Saskatoon pie is my favorite pie, after I pick three more cups of berries I'm gonna try to bake another pie.

Survive Eighteen Years

This isn't a bucket list item...well it should have been.  A few days ago I celebrated my eighteenth birthday!  I now enter a world with far more freedom, and responsibility.  I've never been one to make a big deal about birthdays; I stopped having birthday parties at the age when my Mum stopped organizing them.  Of course this birthday was an exception, it was an important day that marked the transition into adulthood.

I went out for lunch at Boston Pizza with my Mum (if your ever there try the Spicy Perogy Pizza, it's my favorite).  This is where I had my first legal drink!  I ordered a blue martini with my meal, which tasted very good!  That evening I went out with friends to celebrate the significant milestone.  Throughout the day I thought about the last eighteen years, the long journey I took to get where I was now, and the exciting future I have planned.  Now I'm done high school, I'm eighteen, and heading off to university.  Everything is going so fast, it's kind of hard to believe.

P.S. I've been thinking to celebrate my eighteenth that I might go sky diving.  There is a local company, and I've been looking at prices, so I'm deeply considering it!

P.S.S. What do you guys think if I do a few posts every so often like this one, which is not about specific bucket list items?

122. Learn To Walk In High Heels

After buying my beautiful dress for graduation I knew the next thing to do was buy some fancy shoes.  Since my date was 6.3'' I quickly decided I was going to be wear heels.  It's not that I've never wore heels before, just that these four inch heels are easily the highest I've ever owned. I was unsure of my new shoes when I first tried them on at the store; I imagined one clumsy step resulting in me falling on my face, but I bought them anyways.  Soon after bring them home I added bucket list item 122 to the list, and began practicing.

I started by googling how to walk in high heels, and learned the technique of going heel then toe.  They recommended going gradually through the different heal heights and styles before going to the four inch pump, but I didn't have the shoes, or the time for that.  I began where the heels whenever I was at home.  I'd wear them while studying, cooking, or even watching T.V.  Once when hanging out with one of my friends we had a high heel wearing contest to see who could where their pumps the longest...I won!

Wearing heels to graduation was extremely fun!  It made the occasion feel even more special, because it was the first time I had wore my new shoes out of the house.  I found walking in heels on grass was difficult, because the heels would slip through the dirt; I ended up aerating the grass.  I'm happy to say I never fell once, though my feet did get sore from all the standing, and walking.  Now I'll have to find more excuses to wear my high heels!